*-*-* Weeping Willow *-*-*
*-* Chapter Six *-*
"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
~ Mother Theresa
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November passed quicker than Willow thought it would. She wrote to Yolanda every week and every week she got a letter back. Yolanda had mailed the excess money back to Willow saying that it was hers to keep, and that someday she might need it. She really did end up needing it. With the temperature dropping outside, Willow had to buy herself some warmer clothes like sweatshirts and pants.
She was doing well in all of her classes, and despite she and Jackie's constant chatter, Willow managed to learn a thing or two about the stand up bass. German was going well, she'd already learned how to have a basic and simple conversation with someone. They'd finished Lord of the Flies in Literature and discussed it until the book was stripped to the binding. She was a little behind in her math class, but was determined to fix that. Scott had even taught her how to drive a car. She got her license once she was confident enough to start driving on her own. Apart from all of that, Professor Xavier was helping her control her plant growing powers, and Scott was helping her develop her agility, flexibility, speed, and strength inside a room called The Danger Room. She trained with him almost every day to help control her movements and make them more precise and accurate. He once seemed alarmed by how quick she was when dodging the ruby blasts of energy that issued from his visor (it was, of course, on the lowest setting. If Willow were hit, she would only feel a tingling sensation.)
"You're like a cat! If I tried that, I'd snap my spine in half," he said.
"I'm sorry," she said. The last thing she wanted to do was scare him.
"Don't be sorry. Again," he said. She once asked Professor Xavier why she had both growing powers and all the extra super-human abilities. He told her that often times, second generation mutants acquire their mutant parent's physical attributes and powers, but the other abilities were entirely their own. Willow wondered how many other students had two mutations instead of just one, and how many others were second generation mutants.
Willow lay awake in bed more often, letting her mind wander. She thought about school, and homework, and guys she'd met at the school so far, all of which were a little too young. Only one boy, Peter Rasputin, was her age. A lot of the kids called him Collosus because of his huge, muscular frame. He was nice and good looking, but she wasn't at all attracted to him like most of the other girls were.
She thought about Christmas and the snow that was falling heavily outside. She wondered what her first Christmas would be like without her mother. She tried not to think about that very often. At the end of every late night mind wander, she always seemed to think about Kurt. Where was he? Did he have a warm place to stay when the snow started to fall last week? Was he eating regularly? She wished she could know the answers to all these questions, but every night ended the same way. She always wondered about the same three things, and she would always fall asleep before she thought of a forth.
"What're you guys up to?" asked Willow in mid December as she walked into the dorm after classes were over.
"Shh," Jackie hissed. She was listening into the phone.
"We're gonna go see a movie," Rogue whispered.
"What movie?" asked Willow quietly as she sat down on the end of her bed.
"Lord of the Rings, hopefully," Rogue said. "Ah heard it was really good. Just 'cause we're mutants doesn't mean we can't go see a movie."
"Yeah," Willow whispered toughly with a nod.
"Seriously, I can't hear a damn thing," Jackie told them. She listened some more and then hung up. "Okay, we can make today at the 3:15, but it's over two hours long...I think we oughta just ask if we can go to see it. It'll seem to weird, us gone for over two hours."
"Good point," said Rogue. "Maybe if we ask someone lahk Jean...She maht let us go."
"Maybe if we smile real sweet at her," Willow said with a grin.
"I don't do sweet smiling," Jackie said. "Let's just go ask. If they say no, then we'll sneak out."
"Couldn't hurt, Ah guess," said Rogue. "C'mon, we gotta go get Bobby and John, then we'll ask," she said as she put on her winter coat.
"John's coming?" asked Jackie doing the same. She wrapped a scarf around her neck as well. Willow followed their example and put on her warm coat and beanie to shield her ears from the cold. She also put on her gloves that she bought the week before that went all the way up to her elbows.
"Yeah, Ah told you he was," said Rogue.
"Oh, yeah...," Jackie muttered. Jackie and Willow followed Rogue out of the room. They headed across the hall and knocked. John answered, wearing his naturally arrogant expression.
"You gahz ready, or what?" asked Rogue. He didn't have his coat on, and his shoes weren't tied yet.
"Almost," John said. He opened the door a little wider so they could come in. Jackie flashed him a brief, closed smile. He nodded to her before following them inside. One thing was for sure, and that was that the boys were even bigger slobs than the girls were. Clothes and shoes and paper littered the floor. Why don't they just shove this stuff under the beds like everyone else? Willow wondered as she stepped over someone's dirty boxers. She hoped they belonged to Peter. At least he was buff enough to have discarded underwear lying out in the open.
"Hurry up, guys, your room is disgusting," Willow said.
"I just gotta find my other shoe," Bobby said, digging though a pile of clothes. John picked up Bobby's shoe and threw it at him, hitting him in the shoulder.
"Come on, you're holding up the show," John told him. Bobby rubbed his shoulder and put his other shoe on. John and Bobby found their coats and headed out of the room. They all herded downstairs in search of an adult. The first one they came across, however, was Scott.
"What're you guys up to?" he asked.
"Goin' to a movie," John said bluntly. Rogue elbowed him in the ribs.
"You are, are you?" asked Scott raising a quizzical eyebrow.
"Well...that was the plan," Bobby said.
"Could we please go, Scott? We haven't had anything to do for the past week," Willow said. Scott looked like he was thinking for a moment.
"What movie are you seeing?" he asked.
"The Two Towers," Jackie said.
"And that's rated.....?" Scott asked, trailing off.
"Well it doesn't really matter if Willow's with us," John pointed out.
"Jackie's not seventeen yet," Scott said. "What's it rated?"
"PG13," Rogue told him. Scott looked thoughtful again.
"I suppose you could go," he said. "If you're careful and don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"Thanks, Scott," They all said out of unison.
"Seriously, though. Nothing I wouldn't do," Scott reminded them.
"We won't," They assured him.
"Can we take your car?" asked Willow.
"Not my car. You can take the Accord if you want," he said. "I think the key's in the ignition. Don't crash it, you guys!" he called after them. "I mean it!" They pretended not to hear him.
"I'm driving," John said.
"You're sitting in the back. I'm driving," Willow said.
"I call shotgun," Jackie said quickly.
"Sorry, Pyro, ol' pal," she said as they got in the elevator. They rode it down to the garage level and got out. They found the black Accord and piled in. Willow got behind the wheel and opened the garage door with the remote. She started up the car and buckled her seat belt. She adjusted her mirrors and put the car into reverse. They backed out of the driveway and once everything was all clear, they headed to the movie theatre. Willow turned on her headlights and windshield wipers so that she could see through the snow.
"I can't believe we even got out of there with Summers breathing down our necks," John said.
"No kidding," Bobby agreed.
"Time for some tunes," Willow said turning on the radio. She changed stations until she found one of her favorites.
"Oh, no, turn that crap off!" John protested loudly. "I hate your dumb ass techno!"
"Hey, I'm driving. When I'm driving, the radio magically becomes mine. Okay?" Willow told him, looking at him through the rear view mirror. "This is a great song, anyway."
"Do you even know what it's called or who it's by?" asked John.
"I'm not changing the station. Everyone likes techno in here except for you," Willow said stubbornly. "You just get sore every time something doesn't go your way."
"Yeah, I do, but I got my reasons," John said grimly.
"Care to shed any light on those reasons?" asked Willow.
"Not at the moment," John muttered. He didn't say anything else until they got to the movie theatre.
"It's 3:10, we gotta hurry if we want pop corn and stuff," said John. The bought their tickets and went inside. Willow didn't want snacks, so she went inside and saved them seats. The theatre was pretty full, but not uncomfortably packed. The lights dimmed and went out, signaling the beginning of the previews. Willow still sat by herself in the middle of the theatre, waiting for the others to come back with their food. Finally they came into the dark theatre. They looked around.
"Willow!" hissed Jackie.
"Over here," Willow called, waving her hand in the air. They all filed past people who were sitting on the outside of the row and shuffled through the isle towards their seats. They all sat down and watched the previews.
"Have you ever read the books?" asked Jackie to Willow.
"Yep. A long time ago, but I remember what happens," Willow said. "This should be cool." The movie started and the five of them enjoyed being normal kids at the movies.
Two hours later the credits rolled and the lights came back on. Everyone in the theatre got up and started making their way towards the exits.
"That was awesome," said Bobby. "We gotta see that again."
"Yeah. I'd go again just for Arwen," John said with a grin. Willow shoved her beanie back on her head, trying to make herself a little less conspicuous.
"I gotta pee before we leave," said Jackie.
"Me too," Rogue added.
"Me three," Bobby said. The three of them went off to the lavatories, leaving John and Willow by themselves.
"You like the movie?" he asked to break the silence.
"Sure. Helm's Deep was just about the coolest battle scene I've ever seen. And I liked Gollum," said Willow.
"Yeah, Helm's Deep was pretty awesome," John agreed. "Jeez, how long does it take to freakin' pee? I wanna get out of here."
"Me too. People in large groups make me nervous," Willow said.
"I doubt they can tell. Anyone could dye their hair green and wear green lipstick," John pointed out.
"That's true. I gotta get it cut soon, it's driving me nuts," Willow said, flipping it behind her shoulders.
"How much you gonna cut off?" he asked.
"I dunno. Probably chest length. I can't handle it when it's all the way to my ass like this," Willow said. "I'll do it before Christmas."
"Next week," John said with a nod. Willow sighed.
"Yep," she agreed. Bobby came out of the men's room. A few minutes later, Jackie and Rogue came out of the women's room.
"Lets get the hell out of here," John said before they started making their way towards the lobby. They were parked on the side of the theatre wall next to a strip of run down garden. Two men were there trying the handles to see if it was unlocked.
"Can we help you guys?" asked Jackie as they approached the car. The two men looked up, but didn't seem scared that they'd been caught.
"Just lookin'," said one of them innocently.
"Yeah right," John said.
"You realized that this is our car," Willow said. The innocent one's face split into a yellow smile.
"I know," he said.
"So why don't you beat it?" said Bobby.
"Yeah, it's not like you can steal it now. Everyone's looking and we know what you look like," John said.
"Maybe you kids should back off if you don't wanna get hurt," said the innocent one's partner. "We like your car."
"Look, don't make us mad. It's a bad idea," said Willow.
"What're you gonna do?" said Innocent. "Huh? What's a pretty thing like you gonna do?" He ran the back of his slimy finger down her cheek. Willow glared at him. She closed her eyes for a second, and when she opened them, they were glowing green. The guy backed off and looked scared. Willow raised her hands and thick creepers burst from the snow-covered flowerbed. They wrapped around their waists and pinned them against the building with a loud thump. They kicked and struggled.
"Let us go, you freak!" one of the shrieked.
"I don't think so," Willow said. She held up one hand, holding the creepers how they were, and turned her right hand palm up and raised it, making a thick mat of exaggerated ivy grow up the wall and over the men's bodies. The ivy held fast, and they were stuck.
"Be careful who you mess with," Willow told them as her eyes stopped glowing. "Let's get out of here, those plants aren't going to live forever in this weather." They all hopped in the car and left the car jackers behind them, stuck to the wall of the movie theatre under a mat of ivy.
"That was seriously cool," Jackie said. "I didn't know you could grow plants like that. I thought you meant just like, flowers and pretty things."
"Nah," Willow said. "I hope no one saw that."
"I don't think they did, we were kind of parked away from everyone else," Bobby said.
"That's probably why they were trying to steal the car," Rogue said.
"Lets just not mention this to Scott or anyone else, alright?" Willow said. She was getting a little nervous. She was considered the adult of the group, even though she didn't feel like one. But she was still amused at how surprised that slimy guy looked when her eyes began to glow. It felt good to use her power. It had been over a month since she'd used it last.
Christmas was coming, and the mansion was decked out in all sorts of decorations. But before Christmas could arrive, the older students held a giant secret Santa game. About thirty kids were involved, but Willow got Jackie anyway. A bunch of them took the bus to the mall on the twenty-third to buy Christmas gifts for their secret Santa. Willow looked all over the place and finally decided to buy Jackie a longer wallet chain. She was always complaining that the one she had didn't reach far enough. It cost her fifteen dollars, which exceeded the spending limit substantially. Willow didn't mind paying a little more for Jackie's gift. The two of them had become very good friends, after all.
Willow didn't know what to expect when she woke up Christmas morning. Her eyes opened slowly. Everything seemed to be normal. Snow was falling softly outside and she could hear the vent below her bed blowing warm air into the room. She looked over her shoulder and found that everyone was still sleeping. All was peaceful. Above her bed a small stocking was tacked to the wall with 'Willow' written across the white, soft part at the top in glitter glue. She could see a couple candy canes poking out the top of it. She looked above everyone else's beds and saw identical stockings. She got up and kneeled on her bed. She untacked it and sat down. She took out the candy canes and discovered a chocolate Santa and a few other miscellaneous chocolates. She also found a card that was unmarked. She opened it and found a note and a picture. She grinned when she saw who it was. She read the note.
Chere-
Didn't I tell you you'd be hearing from me again? I hope you're doing ok in that school. If anyone picks on you, you tell me about it. They won't know what hit 'em. Get good grades. I might come up there and have a visit if the wind blows me in that direction.
-Gambit
PS: I hope that picture passes as a present. I may not be a millionaire, but I got one good lookin' face, no? Merry Christmas
Willow smiled. Contrary to her previous beliefs, the friends she had made along the road prior to arriving at the school were still in her life. After all, she wrote Yolanda every week, and here was a Christmas card from Gambit. She used the tack from her stocking to pin the photo of Gambit up on the wall next to her bed. It was a Polaroid that looked like he held it in front of his own face and snapped the picture. He had put on his best suave grin. It made Willow smile again. She found a medium sized box on her nightstand. She took it and looked at the tag on the top.
Merry Christmas, Willow! Hope you're doing alright in school! Keep writing, and if you ever need anything, just ask. Happy Holidays!
- the Washingtons
Willow quietly stripped away the paper and opened the box. Inside was a CD player/radio. A new one. Willow was half extremely excited and half sad that Yolanda and her husband (Gerald was his name) spent so much on her. She really did hate it when people spent a lot of money on her. But a disk man with a radio built in! Christmas didn't get much better than that.
Everyone else got up eventually and saw their stockings and Christmas presents. They turned on the light and shared what they got for Christmas.
"My dad really doesn't hate me," Jackie said. "I'll bet Jared told him where I went."
"Your brother?" asked Willow.
"The bane of my existence, but brother is a good general term for him," Jackie muttered. "Oh well. He got me a 3 Doors Down CD, so I guess it's not all bad."
"Yolanda and her husband got me a disk man. It's got a radio too. I guess I'll use the radio until I buy some CDs," Willow said.
"Lucky bitch. My disk man's at home. All I got is my radio, and it's crappin' out on me," said Jackie. "What was I thinking when I ran away?"
"I dunno," Willow said with a shrug. "When are we gonna do that whole secret Santa thing?"
"Any time today," said Jubilee. "It is Christmas." Willow dug the wrapped box out from under her bed.
"Here you go, then," said Willow. She gave the box to Jackie.
"Ooh! Whadja get me?" asked Jackie.
"Open it, if you wanna know so bad," Willow said. Jackie tore open the box and took out the wallet chain.
"Awesome. Thanks," said Jackie. "Know what I could do with this? I could like, whip someone with it and shock the hell out of them."
"Yeah, you could probably do that...," said Willow, looking at Jackie like she was insane. Rogue came out of the bathroom and saw the Polaroid snap shot of Gambit.
"Who's that?" Rogue asked.
"That's Gambit," said Willow.
"The gah from the bus?" asked Rogue, looking at him closer.
"Yep, that's him," Willow said.
"Wow, he's cute," Rogue said.
"Lemme see!" said Jackie. Willow took the picture off the wall and handed to Jackie. "Sexy," said Jackie nodding and smiling. The picture made it all the way around the room, and everyone agreed that Gambit was very attractive. There was a knock at the door. Kitty got up and opened it. Siryn stepped inside.
"Here, Willow," she said.
"Ooh, thanks, Siryn," said Willow getting up and taking the box from Siryn.
"Merry Christmas," she said before walking away. Willow opened it and found a Weezer CD. Maybe she heard me singing in the shower, Willow thought.
"Well, cool, now I've got something to listen to in my disk man," said Willow happily. Then she felt like crying. After a couple weeks of doing good, Willow all of a sudden wanted to cry her eyes out. This was the first Christmas that her mother didn't come in and wake her up, even though she knew that Willow had been awake for hours. This was the first time she didn't open presents under a real tree they both helped grow together. It was the first time that they didn't go to Denny's for Christmas breakfast. It was the first Christmas without eggnog shakes.
Willow sat down and let the tears go. She didn't even try to fight them or wipe them away this time.
"Oh, Willow! What's the matter?" asked Jubilee.
"She's never coming back, guys," Willow sobbed. "Ever." They watched her cry for a few seconds. Jackie came and sat down next to her. She put her arm around Willow's shoulder.
"It's alright, Willow," she said quietly. "We're here for you." Rogue and Jubilee came and sat down on Willow's bed too. Kitty came over as well.
"Let it all out, sugah," Rogue said. Willow sniffled and nodded. They sat there with her until she regained composure.
"Whaddya say we get some breakfast and challenge the boys to a snowball fight?" Jubilee suggested.
"Mm'kay," Willow sniffled. They always found a way to make her feel better.
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Hi there. Right, so the next chapter is the part where they go to the museum. I'm sorry before hand to all the Pyro fans, I made him an asshole. Carry on….
